Pluto and Proserpine - Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire, UK
Posted by: 
Dragontree
N 51° 50.546 W 000° 56.339
30U E 641978 N 5745521
This statue of Pluto and Proserpine appears in the grounds of Waddesdon Manor. This valuable and important collection is attributed to Ferdinand de Rothschild and is maintained by The National Trust with the Rothschild Charity today.
Waymark Code: WMA45M
Location: South East England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 11/14/2010
Views: 3
Grade II Listed on 29th January 1985 this statue is of carved marble and is an Italian design. It dates to the 18th century and depicts Pluto abducting Proserpine. Proserpine's mother Ceres tries to stop him taking her.
Wikipedia describes Proserpine:
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'Proserpina (sometimes spelt Proserpine, Prosperine or Prosperina) is an ancient Roman goddess whose story is the basis of a myth of Springtime. Her Greek goddess' equivalent is Persephone. The probable origin of her name comes from the Latin, "proserpere" or "to emerge," in respect to the growing of grain. Proserpina was subsumed by the cult of Libera, an ancient fertility goddess, wife of Liber and is also considered a life–death–rebirth deity.
She was the daughter of Ceres, goddess of agriculture and crops and Jupiter, the god of sky and thunder.'
.....and one version of the story of her abduction:
'Proserpina ate only four pomegranate seeds, and she did so of her own accord. When Jupiter ordered her return, Pluto struck a deal with Jupiter, saying that since she had stolen his pomegranate seeds, she must stay with him four months of the year in return. For this reason, in spring when Ceres received her daughter back, the crops blossomed, and in summer they flourished. In the autumn Ceres changed the leaves to shades of brown and orange (her favorite colors) as a gift to Proserpina before she had to return to the underworld. During the time that Proserpina resided with Pluto, the world went through winter, a time when the earth was barren.'